page_title: Barakzai
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Barakzai / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Pedigree of Dost Mohammad Khan of the Barakzai ruling dynasty in Afghanistan Dost_Mohammed_Khan
context_page_description: Bārakzai is the name of a Pashtun tribe from present-day, Kandahar, Afghanistan. '"Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtuns and it means "son of Barak" in Pashto. There are seven distinct Pashtun tribes named Barakzai, with the Zirak branch of the Durrani tribe being the most important and largest tribe with over 4 million people.
context_section_description: Ludwig W. Adamec wrote that the Barakzai are "an important section of the Zirak branch of the Durrani to which the former Barakzai/Muhammadzai ruling family belongs. In numbers, economic, and political strength, the Barakzai were the paramount tribe of Afghanistan...They were soldiers in the service of Nadir Shah, founder of the short-lived Afsharid dynasty in Iran, and were settled on land seized from the Ghilzai. They continued to hold jagirs, fiefs, in exchange for their military services to Ahmad Shah Durrani. When Painda Khan, leader of the Barakzais, was assassinated, the Barakzai chiefs under Dost Muhammad ousted and replaced the Sadduzai dynasty. The Barakzai continue to possess large areas of agricultural land and extensive flocks in the area between Herat and Kandahar."
caption: Pedigree of the Payendah Khel Pashtun clan of Afghanistan.
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